Could you be an AGE UK IW Fundraising Champion?

Could you be a Fundraising Champion for a local, Island charity this year?

Age UK IW started in 1973, to enable older people on the Isle of Wight to live well, independently and to reduce loneliness and isolation. For over 50 years now we have done this successfully, but as the average age on the Island continues to rise so does the demand for our charity and services. The Isle of Wight Council predicts that by 2030 almost 34.5% of the Island population will be over 65, and with Age UK IW supporting individuals over the age of 50 we are acutely aware that this increase will affect our capabilities and services greatly. Our website Age UK Isle of Wight explains all that we do, and whilst we sit under the branding of Age UK nationally, we are very much an independent charity, in charge of raising our own finances and self governing. On the flip side of this it also means that every penny we raise stays on the Isle of Wight, supporting our parents, grandparents, neighbours, and friends. The Age UK charity shops on the Island are very popular, but unfortunately the funds raised from these do not make their way to us, instead supporting the national branch, despite well-meaning Islanders thinking they are supporting us when making purchases.

We are based in St Thomas’ Square, Newport, right in the heart of the Island and currently have over 100 volunteers of all ages that donate their time and skills to support the aims of the charity.

This could be visiting someone in their home for a chat and a cuppa, a game of scrabble or cards, taking someone out to a café or other social event, helping them organise appointments and dealing with other paperwork, and most importantly of late, providing digital support as we move into an era where everything is done online, with many of us (not just older people) struggling to get to grips with online banking, forms and recognising the latest scam email sitting in our Inbox.

This may sound like a lot of volunteers, but last year alone we supported nearly 5000 clients and responded to just over 15,000 calls to our phonelines!

All these services require a level of funding, and whilst we are proactively looking at ways to raise funds ourselves, through our own fundraising and grant applications, we know that moving forward we need the support of our Island community to continue to support – our Island community!

This is where you come in.

We are looking for Fundraising Champions among our Island businesses and organisations to come onboard and raise funds on our behalf, with our full support. This could involve organising quizzes, coffee mornings, cake sales, or another type of charity event benefiting Age UK IW.

If you don’t fancy organising something yourself maybe you’d like to sign up for our Skydive this August (Details on our website) and tick an item off your bucket list at the same time?

We’d love to chat more, about how you could help us, so please get in touch - A small amount of your time would make a big difference to us!

Skills

This might include, but is not limited to:

• Collecting money in the community.

• Supporting the organising of events.

• Holding a fundraising event on behalf of Age UK IW.

• Building relationships with local businesses and organisations.

• Approaching businesses for donations of goods for use in events.

• Taking part in an Age UK IW challenge events.